Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
As a real estate agent, you probably already know that your competition is everywhere. Depending on where you are located, there could literally be hundreds of real estate websites in your area alone that are all competing for the same leads.
Building your brand means doing anything it takes © kikkerdirk - Fotolia.com
Like you, I’ve seen all the staggering statistics relating to how many home buyers look online before making a single phone call to a real estate agent or agency. Whether it’s that roughly 84% of all home buyers use the internet to search for a new home or that the percentage of people learning about homes for sale directly from a realtor has dwindled to below just 20%, it’s becoming pretty apparent that consumers are using the internet to find everything from shoes to a brand new condo or single-family home.
So knowing that the internet is your strongest resource for finding new clients and people searching for real estate, it’s imperative you go the extra mile to promote and brand your business or agent website. Just the other day, I noticed that Diane Freeman, a professional realtor in Chicago, has chosen to brand her website on various floor plans she reproduced for a particular condo building she represents.
If you visit her site, you’ll notice that on the 1040 N. Lake Shore Floor Plans page, she has 6 different images displayed, all with her website address watermarked on each. Now, obviously if you’re already on her site, you certainly don’t need to know or remember what her web address may be. However, should she pass these floor plans out at an open house or to various clients interested in the condos at 1040 North Lake Shore Drive, her domain name will be clear and visible to everyone who obtained these images, dramatically increasing the chance she’ll get the first phone call from whoever wants to move forward with a unit that’s for sale.
Including your website on your business card or a mailer is a given. Every real estate agent should have enough common sense to follow these basic marketing principles. But it’s the out-of-the-box ideas such the watermark on Diane’s floor plans that will really pay off in terms of getting more recognition, boosting your website traffic and eventually closing more deals.
Joe Heath is a graduate of Indiana University and possesses a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from Drexel University. After working in the market research sector and authoring published Market Snapshots for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, Joe now works as a Web Marketing Specialist and co-owns Real Estate Web Creation with his partner, Ted Guarnero, a 25+ year real estate veteran.
